Operated by Island Ventures, one of the member's of MCST's Project Cerulean Design Review Team, the SV Kwai docked this week in Honolulu with more than 100 tons of fishing nets and consumer plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the northern Pacific Gyre. This constitutes the largest single cleanup from the enormous mass of marine litter in the Gyre thus far since its discovery , and doubles collection efforts thus far by the Kwai since last year. 

Ocean Voyages Institute, the charterer for the project, is proposing a much expanded future collection program – this means increased demand for vessels with similar capabilities as the SV Kwai to address this issue in the Pacific gyres.

1. https://sailinganarchy.com/2020/06/25/100-tons-of-people-not-caring/

2. https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/sailing-ship-sets-marine-plastic-recovery-record

Posted on - 2020-06-26

While the new center bears the name of the world's largest container shipping company, it is focused on industry collaboration to devise suitable decarbonization pathways for the shipping sector, and boasts seven founding partners: A.P. Moller–Maersk, ABS, Cargill, MAN Energy Solutions, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Nippon Yusen Kaisha and Siemens.

Seeded with DKK400m (US$60m) in capital to establish the non-profit organization, the center intends to build capacity to execute the necessary research, analysis and development to transition towards a zero-emission shipping sector. Given the focus on partnership and collaboration, the opportunity for Pacific engagement with the center may be worthy of inquiry by Pacific Island Countries and maritime sector businesses operating in the region. 

 

https://splash247.com/maersk-mc-kinney-moller-center-for-zero-carbon-shipping-opens-in-copenhagen/ 

 

Posted on - 2020-06-25

As a consequence of the diminished aviation industry revenues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU is now backing measures to weaken the climate change commitments proposed under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA).

While the proposed structure of CORSIA was intended to provide a mechanism for the aviation sector to purchase carbon credits to accommodate the expected growth of air travel in the coming decade, instead of committing airlines to net emission reductions, weakening of the market-based measures will reduce the financial contributions from the offset scheme, and weaken any environmental benefits which may have been garnered from its implementation.

 

 

https://www.climatechangenews.com/2020/06/09/final-blow-aviation-climate-plan-eu-agrees-weaken-rules/ 

Posted on - 2020-06-25